Parametric Analysis Of Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ) Characteristic And Taper Angle During Machining Of Alumina Ceramic Using CO2 Laser

Abstract

Alumina is widely used in the automotive, electrical component and aircraft industries due to its low thermal conductivity and high hardness. However, alumina is notoriously difficult to machine due to its extreme hardness. According to some researchers, laser machining offers a cost-effective machining technique for alumina. Even though many works on laser machining of alumina have been published, most have focused on thin alumina plates. This study determined the effect of a CO2 laser machining method on hole quality in terms of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and taper angle for 3 mm alumina thickness. Design of Experiment (DOE) was performed to identify the effect of laser power and frequency on the output findings. The HAZ and the taper angle were measured using a Scanning Electron Microscopy image. Based on the ANOVA analysis, HAZ and taper angles were influenced by the laser power input. The HAZ thickness increased as laser power and frequency decreased, but the taper angle decreased as frequency decreased. Low laser power (50 W) resulted in a small inlet diameter (0.236 mm), while high laser power (150 W) resulted in a larger inlet diameter (0.272 mm). Multi-response optimization analysis for both HAZ and taper angle showed that 149 W and 2956 Hz frequency were the optimum process parameters which yielded the best output conditions.

Keywords

• alumina
• co2 laser machining
• haz
• taper
• optimization